I am not just a kanaka maoli — a Native Hawaiian — but someone who loves this ‘aina deeply, who honors our kupuna, and who believes in a future where our keiki and mo‘opuna can live, thrive, and afford to remain on this island we call home.
That’s why I support geothermal energy with every fiber of my being. The goals of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative got more ambitious when Governor Green said Neighbor Islands need to be on 100% renewable energy by 2035. We need geothermal to meet those goals.
Public understanding is key to replicating the success we have seen in New Zealand which expects to be fully on renewables by 2040.
So, let’s talk about Pele. She is not just fire and lava — she is life. She is movement. She is mana. And like any beloved kupuna, she gives. She creates. She feeds.
Wouldn’t your kupuna give you everything they had to ensure your well-being? Wouldn’t they offer you warmth when you’re cold? Food when you’re hungry? Shelter when you have none? Why, then, do some act as if Pele would be offended if we drew on the energy she gives us so abundantly?
Geothermal is a precious gift.
It is time we stop living in fear and start leading with courage. It is embarrassing, frankly, how we kanaka have become known for saying “no” to everything. Anti-solar. Anti-wind. Anti-geothermal. Anti-development.
Where is the pro-solution, the pro-sustainability, the pro-ho‘ihi (respect) energy?
We say we want to protect Hawaii. Okay. Then riddle me this: How do we expect to provide affordable, clean electricity to the people of Hawaii without using what Pele already offers?
Solar? It’s intermittent. It takes more than five times the land footprint of a geothermal plant just to produce the same electricity. That means tearing up ‘aina with massive solar farms — built with rare earth minerals mined in China, manufactured with toxic processes, then shipped here in diesel-burning container ships.
Wind? We fight against that too.
Oil? We import it. Burn it. Poison our skies and reef systems. Yet somehow that’s more “culturally appropriate”?
We scream about sacredness — yet we jump into gas-burning trucks, fly in airplanes, and charge our iPhones. Where is the spiritual outrage there?
If Pele is a god, then how can a god be destroyed? How can drilling a well threaten a being who creates islands with her breath?
Let’s not use mythology as a shield for fear. It’s time we use our minds along with our hearts. It’s time we remember that tradition is not the opposite of progress — it’s supposed to guide it.
Look to our cousins in Aotearoa — the Maori. They see their geothermal resources as a taonga, a treasure, a path to sovereignty and sustainability.
Meanwhile, too many Hawaiians block geothermal while offering no alternatives. Is the goal just to protest everything? Wouldn’t it be better to build something instead?
We are at a fork in the road. One path continues our addiction to imported fuel, skyrocketing energy prices, and dependence on the outside world. The other path is powered by the earth beneath our feet, the bones of Pele herself — an energy source that is indigenous and renewable. Geothermal can be a firm power baseload.
Why must we act as if all development is a desecration? Surely we can agree that refusing all progress is also a form of cultural suicide?
Geothermal is not desecration. It is devotion in action. It is choosing the mana of this land over the pollution of foreign fuel. It is choosing aloha ‘aina not just in chants and signs — but in infrastructure, in policy, in practice.
I believe in a Hawai‘i that is self-sustaining. That doesn’t just survive on tourism and crave imported goods, but honors the legacy of our ancestors. We have been afraid of innovation. We were master navigators, builders, engineers, astronomers, and systems-thinkers long before the word “sustainability” was even coined.
We are not a people of fear. We are a people of fire. Of energy. Of life.
And so I say, with all the love in my bones: Let us honor Pele not just by chanting her name, but by using her gift wisely.
Let us lead, not lag. Let us show the world what true indigenous power looks like — clean, rooted, sovereign, and bold.
Nainoa Cullen is a Native Hawaiian entrepreneur who believes in aloha ‘aina and a thriving future for his people. His mother, Roberta Cabral, founded the Innovations Development Group which, in response to an invitation from the late Maori queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, helped two Maori trusts develop their geothermal assets in a community-centered way.
